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I asked this once before but since I have now reached the end of the BMW appeal process I just want to selfishly vent.

Problem.

My 2009 E90 328i with iDrive (standard audio) has an extremely faint default volume level. Whenever the car comes out of a sleep state (after ~20 minutes off or after a forced iDrive reset) the volume of any input (CD, AM/FM radio, FM-HD radio, MP3 on HDD, MP3 on USB stick) is so quiet that it can barely be heard. Every permutation of tone and volume levels including the 'Speed Volume' have no effect. So, almost every time I use the car I have to begin by stabbing the steering wheel volume buttons or twiddling the quaint rotary knob.

Evidence of fault.

I have reported this issue at every service and other visit since the car was redelivered post-ED. In that time both my SAs have acknowledged the unique behavior of my car and have verified that contemporary loaners and same year cars on the lot do not exhibit the same. The west coast BMW expert made an appointment to see the car in August and in his written report acknowledges that the car behaves differently than other cars.

Present and final adjudication.

The same BMW expert who inspected my car and acknowledged that the car behaves differently than other cars ruled that the car was behaving 'as designed' and that no repair or investigation was necessary. There is no appeal process and BMW NA have told me that the west-coast BMW expert is the final say in the matter. After nearly 3 months of many many phone calls and letters following up on 3 years of consistent fault reporting I am officially SOL despite being within warranty.

Status.

I am pissed. Yes, the default volume is I suppose a small thing, but it is a thing which I need to address every journey and it is irritating beyond all reason.

Did the dealer upgrade the CIC firmware in your last visit? If not then either try to code your CIC on your own or pay a forum vendor to do it remotely for you. There is a variable that controls the minimum volume.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankAZ

Hello,

I asked this once before but since I have now reached the end of the BMW appeal process I just want to selfishly vent.

Problem.

My 2009 E90 328i with iDrive (standard audio) has an extremely faint default volume level. Whenever the car comes out of a sleep state (after ~20 minutes off or after a forced iDrive reset) the volume of any input (CD, AM/FM radio, FM-HD radio, MP3 on HDD, MP3 on USB stick) is so quiet that it can barely be heard. Every permutation of tone and volume levels including the 'Speed Volume' have no effect. So, almost every time I use the car I have to begin by stabbing the steering wheel volume buttons or twiddling the quaint rotary knob.

Evidence of fault.

I have reported this issue at every service and other visit since the car was redelivered post-ED. In that time both my SAs have acknowledged the unique behavior of my car and have verified that contemporary loaners and same year cars on the lot do not exhibit the same. The west coast BMW expert made an appointment to see the car in August and in his written report acknowledges that the car behaves differently than other cars.

Present and final adjudication.

The same BMW expert who inspected my car and acknowledged that the car behaves differently than other cars ruled that the car was behaving 'as designed' and that no repair or investigation was necessary. There is no appeal process and BMW NA have told me that the west-coast BMW expert is the final say in the matter. After nearly 3 months of many many phone calls and letters following up on 3 years of consistent fault reporting I am officially SOL despite being within warranty.

Status.

I am pissed. Yes, the default volume is I suppose a small thing, but it is a thing which I need to address every journey and it is irritating beyond all reason.